The Rocket Salad is easy as, and appears a few times in the cookbook. Just some rocket, a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. The perfect side to a meal like this, where the chicken is meant to be the star. It is actually climbing the list as one of my favourite side dishes now, if you can even call it that! Bitter leaves like rocket are really good for you, they're more interesting than your average side salad and the bright, rich green colouring looks awesome on the plate.
The Piri Piri Chicken is so good, I don't know where to start. I was a little concerned about the chilli content - our guest is not a big fan of hot food and I tried to find a way to tone down the spice without knocking out the flavour. I went with just a single chilli in the sauce, and tried to use a bit less of the other spicey ingredients. When you first make the sauce and give it a taste, it is super hot. Its a great taste, but it definitely has a burn to it. Even when moving the tray in the oven after some cooking I noticed that the steam was burning my eyes and making my nose run. But when it is all cooked and served up, it is just so tasty and the heat is cooked right out of it. There's enough flavour and spice to make it worthwhile, but not so much that it becomes unpleasant. It was really easy to put together and I can see myself making it again.
The dressed potatoes were dead easy, and they're actually pretty good for you too. I love sweet potato because it is stacked with loads of vitamins and has actually been classed as a 'super food'. That and it is delicious. I usually chop mine into chips and roast them in the oven with some pepper sprinkled over, but the microwave method is just as good. I thought it was strange that there was no added water or oil in the recipe, but when you seal up the bowl with glad wrap before popping it into the microwave it helps to draw out the moisture and use it for the cooking process. When they were ready I mashed them up a little bit, gave it a stir and then topped with the feta and chilli. So very, very tasty. We left out the coriander but I can't say it really hurt the dish at all!
Quick Portuguese Tarts. What can I say... they are delicious. They are really refreshing, with the flavours of the orange breaking through the creamy centre. I made mine so that they were ready just as we were sitting down to eat the main meal, so by the time we were ready for dessert they had cooled a little and the caramel sauce on top had thickened a bit and was easier to eat. They were dead easy to make, which I love about all of the desserts we have made so far. They were so delicious it was sort of hard to stop eating them. In fact, I think we only did because there were no tarts left! I would definitely recommend that you give this recipe a go. Just make extra!!
So there you have it - it was quick, easy, fresh and full of stuff that is good for you. I can see this one being made for a weeknight dinner. Nothing too special, but nice enough to be enjoyable and healthy enough to be eaten regularly. If you haven't already given a 30 Minute Meal recipe a go, get out there and try this one. It is a nice little introduction to the 30MM style of cooking and a really good starting place for anyone who is a little intimidated by the kitchen.
Next week we get to try making duck - I have no idea where to buy good fresh duck meat around here. I have never cooked duck and I rarely eat duck. So this should be really interesting!! The official menu is Duck Salad, Giant Croutons and Cheat's Rice Pudding with Stewed Fruit. Can't wait to give it a go.
Until our ducky adventure next week - Bon Appetit!
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